This invention relates to product displays, in general, and, more particularly, to an eyeglass display rack and to trays used for displaying and vending eyeglasses.
It is now a common practice to sell non-prescription reading glasses directly to the consumer at pharmacies and other retail outlets. The non-prescription reading glasses are displayed in a retail establishment on free-standing displays.
Typically, a consumer selects a pair of non-prescription reading glasses from the display by trying on a number of pairs until he locates a pair that is suitable, from the standpoint of comfort, magnifying ability and appearance. In order to determine the appropriate magnifying ability for the reading glasses, charts are placed on the displays for the reading glasses. The charts have increasing sizes of print, and the purchaser of the reading glasses is instructed to stand approximately 14 inches (35.6 cm.) from the chart. When viewing the chart, the consumer will look at each line of print, and note the first line of print that appears to be out of focus. By reading across the chart the consumer can then determine the amount of magnification needed for the reading glasses. The amount is expressed in diopters, an optical unit of measurement.
Once the consumer determines the appropriate amount of magnification needed, the consumer will then view all of the glasses on the display rack that have lenses at the appropriate diopter rating. The consumer can then select a pair of reading glasses which the consumer finds to be attractive and comfortable.
An improvement over the use of the chart for determining the proper amount of magnification needed is disclosed in our U.S. Pat. No. 5,861,941, which issued on Jan. 19, 1999. That patent discloses a vision tester that is incorporated into a display rack, which vision tester accurately determines the appropriate magnification needed for the non-prescription reading glasses contained on the display rack. The display rack includes a number of vertically and horizontally spaced supports for the non-prescription reading glasses, which supports are shown in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 374,786, which issued on Oct. 22, 1996.
The eyeglass support of U.S. Design Pat. No. 374,786, which design was invented by one of the inventors herein, has been found to be aesthetically pleasing and functional, in that it effectively supports non-prescription reading glasses that are to be displayed and vended from the display. However, it has been found in practice that placing the eyeglasses on the support is not always precisely done when a consumer tries on a pair of eyeglasses and has to put them back on the support. The support requires that the temples be received in slots, but the consumer does not always place the temples in the slots, thereby having the eyeglasses placed in an imprecise manner on the support.
Prior to the invention of the support shown in U.S. Design Pat. No. 374,786, various other supports were developed for vending eyeglasses. These supports are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,976,532, 5,056,668 and 5,100,006. Although the supports shown in these patents appear to be effective for holding and displaying eyeglasses, they all require that precision be shown in placing the eyeglasses on the support.
The eyeglass display rack incorporating the novel display tray of this invention presents an attractive display for the eyeglasses. The eyeglasses can be placed on the tray with a minimum of care, yet they will always be precisely in place and present an attractive appearance.